Archive for the ‘Lotus’ Category

Lotus unveils 2012 F1 car

The Lotus F1 Team unveiled its 2012 F1 car early this morning. It’s called the E20 and, as you can see, it features the “alligator” style nose we’ve seen already on the Caterham, Ferrari and Force India. We’re not sure if it’s because we’re now getting used to these noses, but the E20′s design doesn’t [...]

Proton denies Lotus sale rumours

Following the Malaysian Government’s move to offload its stake in Proton to DRB-Hicom the car maker is denying the inevitable rumours that it wants to sell iconic sports car maker Lotus. Proton has released an official statement, which reads in part: “We are aware of the many concerns of the different parties related to Proton—especially [...]

Kimi excited to be back in F1

Overnight Kimi Raikkonen got back in a Formula 1 car for the first time in over two years. Fittingly, and to get around F1′s strict testing policies, it was a two-year old Renault R30 chassis running old tyres. And, as you’d expect, Kimi was over the moon to be back in an F1 car. You [...]

Malaysian Government sells its share in Proton

News reports tell us the Malaysian Government has sold its stake in Proton for a reported AU$401m. An announcement on the implications for Lotus, owned by Proton, is expected in the next 24 hours or so. Khazanah Nasional, the state owned investment company, sold its 42.7% share in Proton Holdings to DRB-Hicom, which has also [...]

Romain Grosjean to join Raikkonen at Lotus

Romain Grosjean will return to the driver’s seat with Lotus Renault GP in 2012. The 25-year-old Frenchman won the GP2 series this year and will join Kimi Raikkonen at the newly branded Lotus team. He’s pretty happy about that too. “I am thrilled to be one of the team’s race drivers in 2012. There’s a [...]

Kimi Raikkonen talks about F1 return

Lotus (nee Lotus Renault GP) has released a Q&A interview with their new signing Kimi Raikkonen. Laconic as ever, Kimi explains why he chose Lotus over Williams: “Really there were two options – it was this team or Williams. And everything worked out with Lotus Renault GP as we wanted, so that’s really the reason.” [...]

Renault announces Kimi comeback

Kimi Raikkonen’s Formula One comeback is now official after Lotus Renault GP today announced he has signed a two-year deal with the team. Remember, the team will be known as simply as Lotus in 2012. It hasn’t taken long to knock off one F1 silly season rumour and Kimi is happy to be back. “I’m [...]

Ricciardo to Caterham, Raikkonen to Lotus?

Now that the dust has settled on the 2011 F1 season we can start dealing in rumour and innuendo; Formula One excels in such matters after all. First cab off the rank, then, is the emerging rumour that young Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo will join Caterham after Jarno Trulli has been thanked for his services. [...]

Joint statement on the Lotus position

The two warring Lotus factions have issued a joint statement that proves everyone really does live happily ever after. In the public eye, at least. We expect behind closed doors there have been many toys thrown out of cots. Apparently the two parties signed off an agreement in the last week or so with the [...]

Hello F1, meet Caterham, Lotus and Marussia

The Lotus v Lotus naming saga has come to an end of sorts, with confirmation the FIA has approved three team name changes in Formula One for the 2012 season. Team Lotus will change its name to Caterham, and follows the takeover of the British sportscar firm by the Tony Fernandes led Team Lotus Enterprise. [...]